EXPLORING history has always been close to the heart of Michael Dunn, whose family ties date back to the pioneering Mitchell and Stedman families of Albury.

But his interest is not limited to settlers, with his job centred on uncovering the Aboriginal culture or heritage of sites.

Bungowannah-based Mr Dunn is director of Infield Impact, a company recently established to help people navigate through indigenous requirements for land projects ranging from walking trails to housing subdivisions.

“I enjoy history and I suppose the fact that people have been living here for thousands of years.

“You can walk anywhere pretty much along a river and find cultural material.

“You have to find a balance between development and preserving cultural heritage.

“I’ve come from an industry with gas pipelines, which is fairly full-on.

“Sometimes cultural heritage got swept aside and not managed properly and I think there’s a lot of opportunities there.”

Mr Dunn’s recent works have included assisting with Lincoln Causeway walking trails overseen by Parklands Albury-Wodonga, a housing subdivision at Beechworth and the expansion of the Murray Goulburn store at Corryong.

He said legislation federally and in NSW and Victoria, as well as council measures, all had a cultural heritage facet.

“There’s such a maze of different legislation that people have to go through,” he said.